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St. Joseph’s Hospital has once again been named on the prestigious IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list. It was one of only three large community hospitals in the state to receive this recognition. In addition, St. Joseph’s Hospital was one of 15 hospitals in the United States, and only one in the South East, to earn the Everest Award, which honors hospitals that have achieved both the highest current performance and the fastest long-term improvement over five years.

To be considered for these recognitions, the annual 100 Top Hospitals starts with a study of more than 3,100 hospitals and incorporates independent public data, risk-adjusted and peer-reviewed methodologies, and key performance metrics. Hospitals do not apply for consideration, and winners do not pay to market this honor. The results go into a scorecard that evaluates hospitals on patient care and satisfaction, operational efficiency and financial stability, and compares them to hospitals of similar size and type. According to IBM Watson, if all hospitals in the United States achieved the benchmarks set by St. Joseph’s Hospital and other 2019 Top 100 winners:

More than 103,000 additional lives could be saved

More than 38,000 additional patients could be complication-free

More than $8.2 billion in inpatient costs would be saved

Approximately 155,000 fewer discharged patients would be readmitted within 30 days

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On Feb. 28, George Brooks returned to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Heart Institute, not for another cardiac procedure, but to celebrate with the team who saved his life. During American Heart Month, the cardiac team reached a milestone: the completion of its 500th structural heart procedure, a first in Hillsborough County. Structural heart disease refers to defects in the heart’s valves, wall or chambers, such as atrial septal defect, aortic stenosis and mitral valve prolapse (regurgitation). While open-heart surgery is one treatment method for these conditions, minimally invasive procedures—such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), transcatheter mitral valve repair (MitraClip) and Watchman device implantation for atrial fibrillation, among others—have now been found to be safest for patients who are considered high risk. “I get regular physicals, and when I saw my primary care physician last year he said that my heart was working too hard,” George recalled. He was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis, which causes chest pain, fainting, fatigue, leg swelling and shortness of breath. It may also lead to heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Luckily around that same time, George’s daughter, Carol Cromer, attended SJH’s Tampa in Scrubs event, which provides a behind-the-scenes look at the hospital and its services. During a presentation about TAVR by Phillips Harrington, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Heart Institute, she realized that he was explaining a procedure that would be ideal for her father. “We knew that open-heart surgery would not be the right choice for my father,” Carol explained. “But after hearing Dr. Harrington’s explanation of TAVR and discussing it together with the team of cardiac specialists, we scheduled the procedure at the Heart Institute.” Within two weeks of the procedure, Brooks was completely healed, with no pain or discomfort. “Mr. Brooks’ case is a great example of who these procedures are intended for: those who are high risk and would not be a good candidate for open-heart surgery,” Dr. Harrington said. “Within two weeks of the procedure, these patients are living life to the fullest, compared to a six- to eight-week recovery time for open-heart surgery.”

The St. Joseph’s
Hospitals and Children’s Hospital Foundations ended 2018 recording philanthropic
gifts and pledges of $4.3M compared to $3.1M in 2017, with direct fundraising
expenses of $793,000. During 2018, the
Foundation granted over $2.4M, compared to $1.65M in 2017, to fund patient care
programs and services, staff education, construction and modernization projects,
and the purchase of upgraded equipment and technology throughout our hospitals.

St.
Joseph’s Hospital

Grants totaling $665,000 were made to St. Joseph’s Hospital and
include a Heart Lung Perfusion System
for the St. Joseph’s Heart Institute and used during open heart surgery to
provide blood circulation and oxygenation to patients’ organs and brains ($175,000);
operation of the La Esperanza Clinic, a medical
home for underserved families in south Hillsborough County, and the Faith
Community Nursing program ($100,000); emergency
assistance for team members who suffered
a crisis such as a home fire or hurricane damage ($60,000); a Pyxis
medication workstation to reduce the chances of medication errors and enhancepatient safety ($57,000); cardiopulmonary fitness equipment such
as treadmills for our heart patients in our cardiac rehab program as well as our team members ($58,000);
educational awards for nursing
scholarships and medical conferences for team members ($35,000); a Sonosite
ultrasound for the ER for immediateaccess to imaging for patients ($25,000);
development of Power Tools for the
Resilient Self, a program to give
staff the tools to recover and bounce back from their stressful work
($7,000); therapeutic music at the
bedside for adult patients ($6,000); and a variety of patient and visitor comfort enhancements suggested by team members through
our Humanity Grants program such as blanket
warmers, shuttle services, TV’s in treatment and waiting areas, and vein viewers for easier vein access
during what can be painful IV insertions ($35,000).

St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital

Grants totaling $790,000 were made to St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital to invest
in a new SonialVision R/F Digital Imaging machine with advanced processing tech
to ensure clearer images with lower and
controllable radiation exposure ($500,000);
two breast ultrasounds for the Shimberg Breast Center capable of providing
superior high definition images to detect
masses, lesions and cysts ($200,000); a Tru-D UVC smart disinfection unit — a
robot that disinfects everysurface, nook and cranny of a patient
room ($85,000); and a variety of small but important items such as hand held Dopplers
to detect fetal heart sounds.

St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital

Grants totaling $550,000 were made to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital to
purchase a new Heart Lung Perfusion System used by our pediatric cardiac surgeons in the Children’s Heart Institute
($175,000); a cleaning robot called
“Tru-D” whose UV light sterilizes every surface in a hospital room before a new
patient arrives significantly reducing
the possibility of hospital acquired infections ($85,000); art
and music therapy to help our young patients cope with their diagnosis,
treatment and hospitalization ($54,000); two Galileo vibrating therapy
platforms for children with mobility
disorders undergoing rehab ($40,000); two End Tidal Co2 transcutaneous
monitors for children’s sleep studies
($28,000); initial design and planning for the renovation of the Plasencia Children’s Chronic Complex Clinic
($27,000); a Sonosite ultrasound for the Steinbrenner
Children’s ER/Trauma Center ($25,000); educational
scholarships for hospital staff to pursue their professional training ($18,000);
transformation of a treatment room into a distraction filled space designed for kids ($16,000); a week
to remember camp for children with
cancer and life threatening diseases ($15,000); neuropsychological testing
and counseling for children with cancer ($15,000); underwriting of the Child Life department and a
variety of items to support, distract
and comfort children while in the hospital or undergoing treatment, many
suggested by team members through our Humanity Grant program including little red wagons, asthma kits, vein
viewers, coloring books, iPads, toys and
stuffed animals, wheelchairs; sensory and developmental stimulation, crafts
and play room supplies, and essential experiences including holiday and birthday parties, parades
and a memory making Prom ($50,000).

St.
Joseph’s Hospital – North

Grants totaling $75,000 were made to St. Joseph’s Hospital-North for wireless fetal monitors allowing expectant mothers to move freely
during labor ($32,000); recliners to provide patients a comfortable and secure
place to relax when they are able to get out of bed ($25,000); educational
scholarships for team members ($11,000); and a variety of patient and visitor comfort enhancements, many suggested by team
members through our Humanity Grants program including a golf cart shuttle, blanket
warmers, phone charging stations ($7,000).

St. Joseph’s Hospital – South

Grants totaling $75,000 were made to St. Joseph’s Hospital-South to purchase
two golf cart shuttles ($18,000); an angled Neoprobe and Savi Scout technology
for the ORs, specifically for breast
surgeries ($25,000); a phototherapy bilirubin blanket and light system to
treat jaundiced babies ($12,000); and
a variety of patient and visitor comfort
enhancements suggested by team members through our Humanity Grants program
including coloring books and other distraction items for children, charging
stations for patient and visitor devices to help families stay in touch, and vein viewer to help make needle sticks less painful ($20,000).

On February 7th, the Philanthropic Women of St. Joseph’s kicked off another exciting year of Philanthropic Women’s activities with their Annual Luncheon.

This year, they were pleased to welcome the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild award winner, Julianna Margulies, who gave the sold-out audience at Tampa Yacht & Country Club an insider’s view of her extraordinary and deeply personal journey. Special thanks to sponsors, Clark Construction and Harvey Schonbrun, PA, for helping underwrite the keynote speaker.

In addition to Julianna’s story, the Philanthropic Women of St. Joseph’s were proud to showcase some of their accomplishments including their ongoing support for St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital.

In 2019 $250,000 will be available to fund Humanity Grants, a program where team members identify and submit projects to enhance the patient experience. The funding, which doubled from the previous year, is made possible through generous donations made to the St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation through the Team Member Giving Campaign and philanthropic gifts made by patients and community members.

With Humanity Grants, we can support projects for equipment, comfort and care, education, and mission and bereavement. Some projects that have been funded include a Vecta Sensory Station, a device used to help calm children with sensory processing disorders (see photo), vein viewers to accurately access patient veins, red wagons for pediatric orthopedic patients, pregnancy monitors for maternal care, and golf carts for patient transportation.